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WASHINGTON - Principals had asked students not to leave school for safety reasons. In a letter to families, the principal of Bethesda-Chevy Chase said Wednesday was scheduled as a normal school day and that attendance will be taken in each class. She said she wanted to work with students to plan a demonstration at a time when class instruction is not disrupted.

However, students tell FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald, "What is the point of going to our classes, if we don't feel safe in our classrooms?"

"Of course, our principal would want us to be organized and work with the school, but that's not the point of a protest. The point of a protest is to be disruptive," said Sofia Saidi, Bethesda-Chevy-Chase High School student.

Students at several local high schools took their demands for stricter gun laws to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Students at Montgomery Blair, Richard Montgomery, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High Schools organized a walkout that began around 9:30 a.m.

Hundreds of teens left class, boarded the Metro and marched to the U.S. Capitol where they rallied holding signs that read "It's Out Right To Feel Safe In School," and "Mr. Pres. How Many More Kids will Die?"

#Developing@Fox5DC: Several hundred students from Montgomery County Public Schools who walked out of classes this morning are now rallying at The White House for gun control. School officials tell Fox 5 they will be given an unexcused abesebce for leaving school grounds. pic.twitter.com/ppuyiYUl81